Climate change governance by central banks in an era of interlocking crises

Jacqueline Best; Matthew Paterson; Ilias Alami; Daniel  Bailey; Sarah Bracking; Jeremy Green; Eric Helleiner; James Jackson; Paul  Langley; Sylvain Maechler; John Morris; Stine  Quorning; Adrienne Roberts; Jens van ’t Klooster; Robert Watt; Stanley Wilshire

doi:10.1080/09644016.2025.2481713

Climate change governance by central banks in an era of interlocking crises

Jacqueline Best, Matthew Paterson^*, Ilias Alami, Daniel Bailey, Sarah Bracking, Jeremy Green, Eric Helleiner, James Jackson, Paul Langley, Sylvain Maechler, John Morris, Stine Quorning, Adrienne Roberts, Jens van ’t Klooster, Robert Watt, Stanley Wilshire

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

In this article, we survey the literature on central bank action on climate change, focusing particularly on how the combined crises of COVID-19, inflation, and Ukraine have affected this action. We argue that the current situation is a critical juncture in which recent crises have created a highly indeterminate situation regarding what central banks might do regarding climate change. To date, some central banks have used these crises as opportunities for expanding their role while others have succumbed to pressure to withdraw from climate action. We explore three dynamics that generate this openness to various potential trajectories for climate action: competing interpretations of inflation’s implications for climate policy; shifting forms of expertise within central banks; and attempts at global coordination of central bank activity. We then argue that how this critical juncture is resolved depends critically on national variations in the institutional character of central banks and their political context.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-27
Number of pages	27
Journal	ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2025.2481713
Publication status	Published - 24 Mar 2025

Keywords

Climate change
central banking
crises
political economy
inflation

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1080/09644016.2025.2481713

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Best, J., Paterson, M., Alami, I., Bailey, D., Bracking, S., Green, J., Helleiner, E., Jackson, J., Langley, P., Maechler, S., Morris, J., Quorning, S., Roberts, A., van ’t Klooster, J., Watt, R., & Wilshire, S. (2025). Climate change governance by central banks in an era of interlocking crises. ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2025.2481713

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abstract = "In this article, we survey the literature on central bank action on climate change, focusing particularly on how the combined crises of COVID-19, inflation, and Ukraine have affected this action. We argue that the current situation is a critical juncture in which recent crises have created a highly indeterminate situation regarding what central banks might do regarding climate change. To date, some central banks have used these crises as opportunities for expanding their role while others have succumbed to pressure to withdraw from climate action. We explore three dynamics that generate this openness to various potential trajectories for climate action: competing interpretations of inflation{\textquoteright}s implications for climate policy; shifting forms of expertise within central banks; and attempts at global coordination of central bank activity. We then argue that how this critical juncture is resolved depends critically on national variations in the institutional character of central banks and their political context.",

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AU - Best, Jacqueline

AU - Paterson, Matthew

AU - Alami, Ilias

AU - Bailey, Daniel

AU - Bracking, Sarah

AU - Green, Jeremy

AU - Helleiner, Eric

AU - Jackson, James

AU - Langley, Paul

AU - Maechler, Sylvain

AU - Morris, John

AU - Quorning, Stine

AU - Roberts, Adrienne

AU - van ’t Klooster, Jens

AU - Watt, Robert

AU - Wilshire, Stanley

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AB - In this article, we survey the literature on central bank action on climate change, focusing particularly on how the combined crises of COVID-19, inflation, and Ukraine have affected this action. We argue that the current situation is a critical juncture in which recent crises have created a highly indeterminate situation regarding what central banks might do regarding climate change. To date, some central banks have used these crises as opportunities for expanding their role while others have succumbed to pressure to withdraw from climate action. We explore three dynamics that generate this openness to various potential trajectories for climate action: competing interpretations of inflation’s implications for climate policy; shifting forms of expertise within central banks; and attempts at global coordination of central bank activity. We then argue that how this critical juncture is resolved depends critically on national variations in the institutional character of central banks and their political context.

KW - Climate change

KW - central banking

KW - crises

KW - political economy

KW - inflation

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DO - 10.1080/09644016.2025.2481713

M3 - Article

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JO - ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS

JF - ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS

ER -

Climate change governance by central banks in an era of interlocking crises

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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